THE council has declined to reveal key details of top-level meetings between senior officers and big business discussing the future of the town centre.
The Croydon Strategic Metropolitan Board (CSMB) was formed last year to oversee multi-million pound developments, including Westfield and Hammerson's £1.5 billion Whitgift Centre scheme.
The Advertiser asked the council this week for information about the board - including who its members are - only to be told many of the questions would have to be submitted under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
They include which dates the board has met, whether the meetings are minuted, if those documents are publicly accessible and what outside groups or individuals, if any, have attended.
A week ago Jo Negrini, executive director of development and environment, told the Whigift public CPO inquiry that John Lewis had been an active member of the board, adding that the company wanted to be "assured by the council that we are doing everything we can to promote regeneration".
"They are clear about their vision for what they would like Croydon to be," she said. "They want a fantastic place which is safe and secure, well-maintained and of high quality."
The Advertiser believes people in Croydon have the right to know which businesses have direct access to the town's most senior public officials and how these meetings have influenced Town Hall policy.
Save for a single line in a brochure published last May, there is no information about the CSMB on the council's website. That document said the board was established to "oversee" the "transformation" of Croydon into a "modern European city" and to consider where and how people "live and work", "visit and shop", and "use the wide range of cultural and leisure facilities".
So, a week ago, we submitted a list of questions to the council befitting a group which has a remit to "oversee" almost every aspect of the town centre.
On Monday, we received a response from the council which said the CSMB is a "consultative forum comprising public and private sector partners within the Croydon Metropolitan area".
It does not have any formal status or decision-making powers, the statement continued. It first met on May 16, 2014, and there have been six meetings in total. To date the meetings have been held at the council's offices in Bernard Weatherill House and have been chaired by chief executive Nathan Elvery.
Despite the involvement of senior council officials, the statement continued: "The board does not have council documents before they are published or private knowledge of developing council policy or decisions.
"The aim of the consultative forum is to enable a free and frank exchange of views from participants with different perspectives concerning the redevelopment of Croydon town centre."
As for other details, many of which could have been provided with yes or no answers, the press office said they would have to be submitted by FOI because of the "number of questions" the Advertiser had asked.
So we were forced to look elsewhere for information about the CSMB. The Advertiser approached John Lewis only to be told our questions should be directed to the council. The statement the retailer later provided did not mention the board but said its interest in being part of the new shopping centre was dependent on a "major step change" in the town centre.
It is far from clear how John Lewis, and other businesses involved in the CSMB, such as Stanhope/Schroders, are influencing the policies needed to bring about such a "step change".
Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, was involved in the meetings before the group was formally created and named.
He told the Advertiser there were "regular diarised meetings" involving the Croydon Partnership, the name given to Westfield and Hammerson's joint plan, Transport for London, the Mayor's Office and the council.
At that point the meetings were chaired by politicians such as then council leader Mike Fisher or Sir Edward Lister, the Deputy Mayor of London, policy and planning. The meetings, said Mr Barwell, were "led by politicians".
That all changed following last year's local elections, he explained. "My understanding is they have now moved to a model where they are now officer-led meetings and they have broadened the people who are present to include others who have a significant stake or interest in the town centre.
"I don't have a problem with that. Given we want John Lewis to come to the town centre it is very good to have them present so they can see all the things that are going on and what's planned. That may give them the reassurance they need to come here.
"What I think is important is any decisions that are being taken are discussed in an open and democratic way."
Mr Barwell said that did not mean releasing minutes or giving the public access to what was said during CSMB meetings.
"I think the council should be transparent about who they are meeting with but I don't think the meetings should be formally minuted," he said.
"There's nothing wrong with the leader of the council meeting privately with people who are thinking about investing in the town to find out what their concerns are and what they would like to see happen.
"But, if the council is doing things as a result of these meetings, it should be open about it. If it has been influenced it should just say that."
There is no public record of CSMB meetings or who senior council officers and elected members have met, nor any formal indication of how these meetings have shaped public policy. At no point has any politician, Labour or Conservative, admitted in the council chambers that a policy they were about to vote through had begun life as the concern of a private company.
In short there is currently very little opportunity to scrutinise the political influence of big businesses in Croydon.
What of Mr Barwell, himself a governor of the Whitgift Foundation, which has a major stake in the plans being discussed at the CSMB? In the past he has called for the relocation of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres away from the town centre. Did that follow pressure put on him during these high-level discussions?
He replied: "At these meetings no, but it's certainly the result of feedback I've had from a number of people I've spoken to about investing in Croydon. It's also from constituents who've told me why they don't shop in Croydon."
Mr Barwell gave a hypothetical example and, while the situation may not have happened exactly as described, a glance at some of the policies introduced in the town centre in recent years - the introduction of tougher controls to restrict the spread of off-licences for one - would suggest there is more than a little fact to the fiction.
He explained: "Hypothetically, I could sit down with John Lewis and they could say the main concerns they have about investing in Croydon are about safety and the visual appearance of the town when you come into the main gateways.
"You might come back to them in a month's time and say right, we're going to spend some money to improve the public realm around East Croydon station, we're going to do this in relation to [safety] and this in relation to licensing.
"You might get their views but actually, in signing off those policies, they have to be done in public meetings."
Mr Barwell said it would be "perverse" for the process to work any differently. He said the council was currently going through the same steps with "a number of major employers" looking to relocate to Croydon.
"I think that's an entirely proper thing to do because it's for the public benefit of Croydon," he added.
Asked whether the process was transparent enough, Mr Barwell said: "People should be aware these meetings are taking place. If that's not happening then I think it should be exposed."
As for the council use of Freedom of Information laws, he said the decision "seemed silly".
"If they worry about what will be said [about these meetings] they should just be up front about it. If they believe it's the right thing to do then what's to be embarrassed about?
"Just say we're meeting with these people because we want to come and invest here."
